Making Peace
Adam Lane Smith
paperback $12.99
ebook $2.99

The next time some dimwit tries to tell you that indie published books are not as good as those you get from the Big Five, tell him/her/it that you agree. They aren’t as good; they’re better. Then give that person a copy of Making Peace by Adam Lane Smith to prove your case.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to state that I purchased this book with my own money; I was not provided a review copy.

Now, let prove my thesis, stated in the first paragraph. I though Making Peace was as good or better than what I’m seeing come out of the big imprints these days.  It’s not just the world building, the background, or the characters. It’s what Mr. Smith does with them.

This is technically a science fiction novel, because it’s set on a planet in a galactic empire, but the planet has laws against too much techology, and the story is basically a fantasy. Belkan Candor is an interstellar romance writer, but he’s deeply in debt, so he takes an assignment to be embedded in a group of elite soldiers on a planet where the society is intentionally low tech.

The city Tiers is built in, well, tiers, where life is cheap and living in the higher levels doesn’t always protect you. Beltan is embedded with the First Keepers. Their job is to keep peace between the merchant houses who rule the city, specifically the top four houses. (Other Keepers are responsible for the lower houses.) There’s plenty to keep them busy. Someone is murdering the pregnant members of the First House. The Second House is the subject of increasing attacks on its members. And that’s just what’s on the surface.

Belkan finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into the workings of the Keepers. Not surprising, really. He’s embedded with them, so he goes with them on patrol. He also fights with them, at first as a matter of simple survival and as time goes on as matter of justice.

The characters are people you will grow to love. Just don’t get to attached to some of them. Not all will survive until the end of the book. The cast Smith peoples his book with are almost all wounded or damaged in some way. These flaws make them more human, more relatable, and more interesting.

The battle scenes are well done, with attention to detail you don’t see from many writers. But it’s what comes after the battles that made this novel stand out for me. Smith doesn’t shy away from graphic violence, but he doesn’t glory in it either. The characters deal with the carnage they experience. To put it in contemporary terms, there’s plenty of PTSD to go around.

Smith doesn’t shy away from dealing with the wounds and scars killing leaves on a person’s psyche. This really brought some depth to the book. There are plenty of fantasy heroes who slaughter hundreds and shrug it off. I’m looking at you, Conan of Cimmeria. And while I enjoy that type of fantasy, I do like the characters in the stories I read to have realistic human reactions.

Making Peace is Smith’s first novel. You can’t tell it.  He handles the characters, the action, the mystery (the solution is a doozy), the plot twists, and the ethical concerns of his story like an experienced pro. And make sure you read his Afterword.  This one is highly recommended.